Italian Inspired Meal: Smoked Pork Pasta

Nothing says “Sunday Family Meal” more than pasta and what better pasta than straight-from-Italia pasta!? Though the marvelous Twitterverse I met Judith Klinger, author of the site Aroma Cucina, Personal Chef and a amazing food lover. She’s based out of New York AND Italy, lucky her right? Well, a few weeks ago, Judith hosted a giveaway and tada! I won quite possibly the BEST giveaway ever: Italian food goodies! Everything from dried pasta, peeled tomatoes, perfect capers, dried mushrooms, amazing olive oil, risotto, lentils, spelt, salts and even saffron! Jealous? I know, I’d be jealous as well!

Grabbing a few ingredients, last Sunday dinner was a lovely pasta made from spaghetti (oddly enough, notice the ends of these noodles were attached, so they were EXTRA long!), re-hydrated mushrooms, a light cream sauce, veggies and smoked pork chops! I had grabbed the saffron to throw in a few threads but ultimately decided I wanted to use it later on. Check out the pictures, throw some ingredients together, have dinner and visit Aroma Cucina and follow her on twitter @JudithKlinger.

In a HOT saute pan, throw in the pork and sear, rendering some fat. Add carrots, peppers, celery, garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook until carrots have lost a little of their crunch, but not all.

Throw pasta in large pot of salted, boiling water. Cook until al dente and remove from water.

Add milk and slurry into saute pan with pork and veggies. Cook over fire until thicken and then add mushroom water (umami!). Reduce heat, simmer so flavors steep into sauce.

Toss pasta with sauce and rehydrated mushrooms, and serve with a sprinkling of freshly cracked pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. Buon Appetito!

Happy Sunday and thanks for stopping by! You can head over to In Good Taste where you’ll see my newest contribution and it’s all about Breakfast Burritos done simple! On your way there, follow the ever lovely foodie and author of the site, @MarisCallahan

Excited to get caught up on reading blogs, this was one I missed… YAY, Congrats on such an awesome giveaway win! I still have not worked with dried mushrooms, but I must:-). This looks beautiful:-)Hugs, Terra